Biofilms

Biofilms can be difficult to remove by cleaning and disinfection, once they are formed, which can happen almost anywhere in process equipment in the food and beverage industry. Microorganisms embedded in biofilms might cause serious hygienic problems that often lead to financial losses caused by food spoilage, food safety problems, and loss of production efficiency.

The microbial quality of the manufactured products is traditionally evaluated based on laboratory analyzes. Such methods are time consuming and it may take days before results are available. This is often too late because the products may already have left the production site. Preventive activities are therefore important, which among other things includes monitoring of critical points in production lines by relevant inspection methods at appropriate intervals.

Biofilms raise several questions:

Where are biofilms formed in processing equipment?

How can biofilms be detected especially in closed systems?

Why are biofilms difficult to remove by cleaning?

What problems do biofilms cause in dairy product, beer, wine and soft drinks and in aqua-farming?

These issues are addressed in two articles available on the Bactoforce website. The target group is production and quality control personnel in industry.